Do I Look Like I Know? (5)

“Ugh….”

The eyes of the man clinging stubbornly to the cliff filled with terror.

“Aaaaah!”

Desperate screams echoed everywhere.

The one who had jumped down just moments ago was skewered by a flying blade like a spit before he even hit the ground.

“Ugh….”

At that moment, a decapitated corpse was seen plummeting from above, blood spurting out.

Above, Mount Hua fiends were slaughtering comrades clinging to the cliff face like demons.

Below were the enraged Southern Island Sect men.

Above were the demonic Mount Hua men.

There was nowhere to run.

The only choices were to be pierced and killed by the blades below or to be cut down by the devils’ swords rushing from above.

Death was not frightening.

If he had feared dying, he would never have taken up the path in the first place.

But he at least did not want to die like this.

When he jumped off that cliff, he could not have imagined such an outcome.

How did this happen….

Shreek!

At that moment, a searing pain shot through his hand.

A sword qi sent by Chung Myung from above had instantly severed the hand gripping the cliff.

“Gyaaaah!”

He screamed and fell downward.

But before his body even touched the ground, a flying blade tore him apart in an instant.

Slash!

Chung Myung, having kicked off the cliff, glanced at the falling dark figure and the Southern Island disciples swinging their swords, and gave a wry chuckle.

The Southern Island disciples’ eyes were full of killing intent.

No wonder; they had been the prey under attack this whole time.

But now that they stood in the position of effortlessly slaughtering enemies for the first time, their pent-up rage threatened to explode.

‘What about the situation?’

Still not good.

They had passed one crisis, but they still remained in the gorge.

Moreover, those descending from above slowed their advance.

It takes many times the effort to move a cart that’s stopped.

But… Chung Myung’s gaze abruptly turned to the very front of the group.

When he saw the three standing there, Chung Myung’s mouth twitched into a slight smile.

“You chicks.”

Even he had to admit it now.

Those chicks were strong.

Kaaang!

The spear that had been flying shot upward at once.

And the one who dove into that opened space unleashed a blade like lightning.

Shraaak!

In an instant, twelve strikes.

In such a brief gap that most swordsmen can’t even unleash three strikes, twelve thrusts burst forth.

It was truly a splendid sword technique.

Spears are primarily weapons for thrusting and are not well-suited to blocking.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Jo Gul’s sword pierced ten-odd holes in the opponent’s body in an instant.

Even so, there was no room for complaint.

Even if he had held a sword or blade instead of a spear, the result would not have changed.

Jo Gul, as if unwilling to waste even the time waiting for the enemy to fall, lunged forward and struck the collapsing man’s jaw with the sword hilt, sending him flying.

Thud!

With a short, powerful impact, the opponent’s upper body bent back as if it would break.

Jo Gul’s sword shot into that opened space once more.

“Aaaah!”

The man pierced in the side howled and hurled his spear, but Jo Gul paid it no mind and advanced instead.

Kaaang!

The spear that flew in was deflected by a sword that sprang up from behind.

Shraaak!

Jo Gul’s sword qi rained down in succession.

Seizing the opponent’s hesitation, Yoon Jong stepped onto Jo Gul’s shoulder and leapt forward, slashing his sword horizontally in one stroke.

As the lightning-like thrusting sword was deflected, a heavy sword came across in a horizontal cleave.

Although he reflexively thrust his spear forward, Yoon Jong’s sword split the iron-made spear shaft like bamboo.

“Gasp!”

It was truly a steady, composed internal qi.

Even when mastering the same martial training, the magnitude and nature of one’s internal qi differ by person.

Calm, unhurried, never impatient; Yoon Jong’s internal qi, honed by relentless repetition of his duties, was steadier and heavier than anyone at Mount Hua.

Fwoosh!

With the heirloom sword split in two, Jo Gul’s qi poured down again on enemies who’d lost their means to respond.

Shhhhh!

Hot blood gushed out from the backs of bodies quickly pierced through.

“D-Don’t panic—retreat and thrust! Don’t get entangled in their numbers!”

There were those who could think quickly.

The synchronization between Yoon Jong and Jo Gul was unlike anything seen before.

Ordinary coordinated techniques typically unfold predetermined forms according to the situation, making them powerful but rigid and inflexible.

But what the two were executing now was not mere coordinated technique.

Though merely matching each other’s breath, their attacks and defenses intersected with a precision surpassing professional coordinated arts.

Any who got caught in that would be finished before they could react.

So the orthodox move was to use spears’ advantages to deny them the space to demonstrate that superb rhythm.

Upon hearing that, many withdrew hastily.

Their decision was not wrong.

For now, their only viable option was to exploit the spears’ utility.

But they missed just one thing.

The one who’d given them that distance was none other than a Mount Hua disciple.

As the enemies fell back, Jo Gul and Yoon Jong, as if by agreement, opened space to the left and right.

Into that opened space shot the sword of Mount Hua’s Acting Sect Leader, Baek Cheon.

Hwaaagh!

From the trembling tip of the sword, countless plum blossoms poured out.

Petals flowed and flowed again, filling the gorge like a roaring torrent.

The 24 Movement Plum Blossom Sword Technique: Plum Shadow Forms a River.

The crimson petal torrent surged toward the retreating enemies.

At that absurd sight, the enemies’ eyes widened in shock.

It’s impossible for human strength to stop a river made of blades.

Yet even so, there was no way to evade in such a narrow gorge.

The spearman at the front swung his spear helplessly.

At the moment he swung, an incongruous chuckle escaped his lips.

Kwaaaaah!

And before that laugh had faded, the river of plum blossoms descended upon them.

What happens when a human is thrown into a river made of hundreds of master blades?

Those who tried to stop it were shredded to pieces, and Jo Gul dashed into the opening.

A cry-like shout erupted from his mouth.

“Wow! No need to go to Shaolin!”

“Shut up and swing your sword, you lunatic!”

Jo Gul’s sword continuously pierced the stunned spearmen’s bodies.

The swords they wildly swung in resistance couldn’t break through Yoon Jong’s solid defense, and Jo Gul’s blade continued to ravage their bodies.

And just when they could catch their breath, Baek Cheon’s blade qi exploded forth.

It was a battle fought in an extremely narrow gorge.

Carelessly swinging a sword could harm allies rather than enemies.

Isn’t that why those blocking Mount Hua had armed themselves with spears?

Yet Mount Hua’s swordsmen seemed to excel at fighting in such tight gorges, wielding their swords with ease.

“Aaaaah!”

With unstoppable momentum.

Namgung Do-Wei’s sword was powerful, and Hae Yeon’s fists were formidable.

Yet the speed at which the three cut down the enemy made even those two’s sword and fist pale in comparison.

None of them were perfect alone, but when the three different blades harmonized, their destructive power was immense.

Shraaak!

Rushing with the force to rip space itself, Jo Gul pierced the trained bodies as if they were bundles of straw.

“Back, fall back!”

A dark shadow fell over the faces of those retreating under Jo Gul’s demonic onslaught.

Startled, they looked up, and a burst of plum petals exploded above them, pouring down all at once.

They tried to scream in agony as if their bodies were being slashed by razor blades, but before the scream could even leave their throats, a flying blade sliced through their bloodied necks.

Fwaaah!

Baek Cheon leapt into the midst of the enemies.

His Plum Blossom Sword pierced the vital points of the enemies swiftly and with absolute precision.

Even in the dire situation, the sword that unfolded without a tremor perfectly embodied the ideal Mount Hua pursued.

“Press them!”

“Yes!”

Into the space Baek Cheon had created, Jo Gul and Yoon Jong leapt in as if by prior agreement.

Training itself is pure pain.

It abuses the body and drives the mind to the brink.

You suffer wounds, endure insomnia, and at times it’s cruel enough to want to wail.

Day after day.

Months, and then years.

How many hours have they pushed themselves relentlessly?

No matter how much they accumulate, it remains invisible.

There isn’t even the slightest certainty that they’ve changed.

Even when you overcome one wall, another stands ahead; even if you climb a brutal cliff with bare hands, a higher cliff awaits above it.

Thus the path of martial learning is like endlessly walking a boundless thorny road.

But what you pile up and build ultimately remains at your fingertips, at the tip of your sword.

Kwagagak!

An iron spear miraculously managed to block Jo Gul’s blade.

But only for a moment; Jo Gul’s sword spun fiercely and gnawed through the spear shaft.

‘What?’

Kwagagagak!

The piercing sword, as if sawing through the shaft, wedged into the heart of the spear-wielder.

The man, stunned, could do nothing but try to look once more at the one who killed him.

But Jo Gul had already passed him and moved on.

No one could stop him. No one could contend with him.

The swift sword, become like light itself, pierced enemy after enemy.

“Those who block will die!”

Jo Gul, his face flushed with blood, shouted at the top of his lungs.

Their overwhelming momentum made the entire gorge seem to tremble.

‘Done.’

Im So-Byeong, watching the front, curled the corner of his mouth.

The enemies were already completely overwhelmed.

At this rate, breaking through the gorge shouldn’t be too difficult.

The enemy’s prepared moves were likely nearly exhausted, and they had already broken through more than half the gorge.

Chung Myung’s judgment that the narrow gorge would actually be better for facing a large number was not wrong.

‘If we can just break through here!’

It would become much easier.

If so, breaking through the Southern land wouldn’t be that hard either… and at that very moment.

Sensing something, Im So-Byeong flinched.

He whirled around and saw swirling poisonous mist rising.

Beyond that poisonous mist, at the narrowed end of the valley like a line, someone unfamiliar yet familiar appeared.

Step. Step.

The person who walked slowly into the gorge raised his head and stared at everyone.

As if he intended to watch the whole spectacle.

“…Ho Ga-Myung!”

The color drained from Im So-Byeong’s face.

A warrior of the Ten Thousand People Clan and of the Four Sects Alliance.

The Mind-Probing Inquisitor, Ho Ga-Myung had finally caught up to them.

Ho Ga-Myung leisurely looked around.

The blood-soaked gorge and the scattered corpses clearly showed how desperately they’d fought.

“A bit late.”

Yet despite that, Southern Island Sect and the Heavenly Friends Alliance were still stuck in this gorge.

“Still… they’re not completely late. That’s enough.”

Im So-Byeong hurriedly turned his head.

And he shouted with the loudest voice of his life toward Baek Cheon up ahead.

“Acting Sect Leader! Hurry!”

As he bellowed like someone coughing up blood, Ho Ga-Myung’s gaze turned to Im So-Byeong.

His eyes were icy.

“I praise your valiant fight. But it ends here, you rats.”

Ho Ga-Myung raised his hand and pointed ahead.

“Leave not a single one alive.”

The moment that command fell.

Climbing the towering cliffs on both sides, the Ten Thousand People Clan forces, weapons drawn, charged down like hellish ghouls who’ve tasted fresh meat for the first time in centuries.